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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Affirmative Action Incentive Grants fund nine proposals

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 31 - May 21, 1998

The Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Office and the Office of the Provost
awarded nine Affirmative Action Incentive Grants for 1998-99, selected from 27
proposals, according to Pat Hyer, associate provost for academic
administration.
The annual allocation for the program is $20,000--half from the Provost's
Office and half from EO/AA, Hyer said. The selection committee is composed of
EO/AA Committee members. The program supports projects designed to demonstrate
the effectiveness of new approaches to promote affirmative action; activities
which will enhance the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women,
minority members, and people with disabilities; programs that will encourage
behavioral and attitudinal changes supportive of diversity, and thereby improve
the campus environment for women, minority members, and people with
disabilities; and studies seeking ways to improve Virginia Tech's ability to
monitor and evaluate its diversity programs
Winning projects, project leaders, award amounts, and program descriptions
follow:The College of Arts and Sciences Peer Mentoring Program: Richard Rich,
Cultural Diversity Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences, $2,500--The
project establishes a college-wide peer-mentoring program for new students of
non-dominant cultural background entering Virginia Tech in fall 1998. The goal
of the program is to promote academic excellence, to aid retention, and to help
ensure graduation by providing student-to-student connection and inclusion in
the university community.Enhancing Recruitment of Diverse Graduate Students in Sociology: Toni
Calasanti, associate professor of sociology, $2,500--The continuation grant
will allow the department's minority recruiter to expand and solidify
minority-student recruitment efforts for the doctoral program in social
inequality, to make additional progress on curriculum development for the
concentration in diversity studies, and to work closely with the directors of
women's studies and black studies on this new graduate program of mutual
interest. Hispanic Heritage Month at Virginia Tech: Jessica Ranero, a graduate
student in Student Personnel Services who is working for Multi-cultural
Programs in the Dean of Students Office, $2,500--This grant helps create the
first celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month at Virginia Tech, scheduled for
October, 1998. A full slate of activities has been planned, including a major
speaker, musical and dance performances, lunch discussions, and ethnic food
tasting.A Training Module for Mentors of First Year Women and Minority Engineering
Students: Leslie Graham, academic counselor Minority Engineering Programs,
$1,000--Strengthening the skills and effectiveness of the upper-class student
mentors working with freshmen minority and female engineering students is the
focus of this project. The grant will be used to prepare a handbook and
training workshop to be held before the start of fall term for the student
mentors.I Want to Go to Virginia Tech: Richard Gargagliano, hospital
administrator, Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center, $2,500--The project
involves the staff at the Equine Medical Center and a variety of area service
agencies in an extraordinary effort to assist a severely disabled young woman
in her continued recovery from a traumatic brain injury sustained while
exercising a horse. Her love for horses brought her as a volunteer to the
center, where she has been urged and assisted in her long-term quest to regain
ability to walk, to re-develop skills to ride horseback at a competitive level,
and to become gainfully employed. A local television company will videotape her
continued progress and also focus on how attitudes of Virginia Tech employees
toward people with disabilities have been impacted by having had an opportunity
to work closely with a disabled co-worker. Black Alumni and Undergraduate Networking Luncheon: Barbara
Pendergrass, associate dean of students, $2,000--The fourth Black Alumni
Reunion will be held in March 1999. Alumni will be invited to attend a luncheon
with undergraduate students with the goal of building important connections
between these groups to the benefit of both. Black alumni have expressed strong
interest in involvement with current students and a desire to assist with their
retention and success. Students will benefit by their encouragement and by
connection to positive role models.Campus Connection: Joan Hirt, associate professor, and colleagues in
educational leadership and policy studies, $2,500--In the last few years, the
graduate program in College Student Affairs has embarked on an aggressive
minority-recruitment effort that has increased entry master's degree cohorts
from 35 percent to 46 percent minority students. Project funds will support
recruitment trips by two current students to historically black colleges and
other institutions graduating large numbers of minority students.Adventures in Space for Female and Minority Youth: Joyce Martin,
Extension Agent, 4-H, Montgomery County Extension Office, $2,250--This grant
continues the development of an aerospace special-interest 4-H club in
Montgomery County, targeting girls and minority members ages 9 through 13. The
club's activities are designed to encourage girls' interest in science and
space, promote career exploration, provide opportunities to interact with
positive role models, and to increase problem-solving and decision-making
skills.Orientation and Small Group Workshops for Freshman Engineering Students
with Disabilities: Leslie Graham, coordinator of support services, College
of Engineering, and Susan Angle and Jane Warner, Services for Students with
Disabilities, Dean of Students Office, $2,240--The purpose of this
collaborative project is to provide an early fall-orientation program and
series of small-group workshops for freshman engineering majors with
disabilities. About 17 percent of the self-identified students with
disabilities are enrolled in engineering. The program will strive to establish
meaningful faculty/staff interactions with students with disabilities early in
their college careers; increase students' awareness of strategies for success;
and improve students' self-advocacy skills, including taking responsibility for
one's own personal, career, and academic success.